Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is struggling.
Now it may be on the verge of a knockout blow.
And this major 2024 ultimatum is bad news for Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis’s disappointing fundraising report showed his campaign is reliant almost entirely on big-money donors.
Just 15 percent of DeSantis’s $20 million haul came from the grassroots base which donates less than $200 per contribution.
DeSantis’s cash-strapped campaign is increasingly reliant on the Never Back Down super PAC – which has no limit on what donors can give – to pay for events and travel.
And now DeSantis is facing a crisis on that front.
Hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow was one of Ron DeSantis’s earliest and most generous supporters.
Bigelow was the largest donor to the Never Back Down super PAC kicking in a $20 million contribution.
But in an exclusive interview with Reuters, Bigelow said he cut DeSantis off financially until DeSantis moderated his positions.
“He does need to shift to get to moderates. He’ll lose if he doesn’t … Extremism isn’t going to get you elected,” Bigelow stated.
The only issue Bigelow specifically mentioned he wanted to see DeSantis shift to the left on is abortion.
DeSantis signed a six-week pro-life law after Bigelow donated $20 million to Never Back Down and Bigelow would like to see DeSantis moderate to a more pro-abortion position.
“When asked which specific policies Bigelow did not support, Bigelow cited only DeSantis signing in April a bill passed by the Florida legislature banning abortions after six weeks, a move that came after Bigelow had donated the $20 million,” Reuters exclusively reported.
This puts DeSantis in a difficult spot and could explain some recent campaign missteps.
DeSantis knows he can’t completely walk away from the abortion issue and win the Iowa Caucuses, which are dominated by evangelical Christian voters.
But DeSantis also drew the wrath of pro-life activists by disavowing any national pro-life legislation during an interview with Megyn Kelly.
Those comments look like an attempt to appease Bigelow while not disavowing the six-week pro-life law he signed as governor of Florida.
Bigelow also admitted his pitch to DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck did not initially go over well although the campaign did take it under advisement.
“There was a long period of silence where I thought maybe she had passed out,” Bigelow added.
“But I think she took it all in,” Bigelow continued, saying Peck is a “very good campaign manager.”
Bigelow’s demands for a more moderate DeSantis could also explain recent comments where DeSantis attacked Trump over how he contested the 2020 election as well as DeSantis attacking Trump’s conduct and record.
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